This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with American International Master Kostya Kavutskiy.

Kostya is one of the three "senseis" (teachers) at the ChessDojo, an international chess training program that Kostya runs together with fellow Americans GM Jesse Kraai and IM David Pruess. As a player, he is currently embarking on a "European tour", which has included the recent Reykjavik and Grenke tournaments. His next destination is Spain, where he will be attending the Killer Chess training camp organised by Jacob Aagaard.

Joining us from Hamurg, Germany, Kostya talks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam about the origins of the ChessDojo program, his GM ambitions, meeting Vasyl Ivanchuk and much more. Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!

Timestamps:

0:00 – Intro

2:08 – Why Kostya prefers playing in Europe

4:00 – The philosophy behind the Chess Dojo

9:58 – How did Kostya transition from playing to teaching?

11:25 – Drawing inspiration from Mark Dvorestky

12:55 – The Dojo’s online training plan

16:20 – If a player outgrows his teacher, can the teacher still be of use?

18:00 – Running into Dojo fans around the world

21:35 – How Kostya finds his training material

23:00 – Why Kostya does not necessarily think new books are better than the older ones

28:10 – Meeting Vasil Ivanchuk in Reykjavik

37:08 – AD BREAK

38:05 – The value of post-mortem analysis

41:00 – What eleven hours of analysis with Vasil Ivanchuk feels like

49:00 – Grenke

50:50 – The future of freestyle chess

54:40 – Did Kostya analyse the freestyle games from Grenke?

57:00 – Kostya’s trip to Spain to train with Jacob Aagaard

58:20 – AD BREAK

59:00 – Kostya’s quest to become a grandmaster

1:01:50 – Has teaching made Kostya a better player?

1:05:10 – Kostya’s bet with Dirk Jan

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Ukrainian grandmaster Efim Geller.

Efim Petrovich Geller (1925-1998) was a two-time Soviet chess champion and a six-time Candidate for the World Chess Championship. During the twenty-year period in which he was recognized as being a world top ten player, he faced ten different world champions, scoring victories against eight of them and even coming out with a positive overall score (+39-36=131). A natural attacking player who became more well-rounded as his career progressed, Geller was also known as an opening expert, contributing significantly to the emergence of the King's Indian Defence in top-level play. He was active as a coach, aiding future world champions Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov in their respective world championship match preparations. Genna, who ran into Geller several times over the years, paints a compelling portrait of the somewhat "underappreciated-by-history" grandmaster.

Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.

This week's narration, which is the final part of a six-part series, examines the final phase of Tal's life. As his physical ailments mounted, Tal never "slowed down" his hedonistic lifestyle. Money was tight in his final years, but he never stopped relying on chess for his income, ultimately living off simuls and exhibitions. However, this did not diminish the legendary, near-mythical status that he achieved during his heyday. 

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch businessman and chess benefactor Bessel Kok.

Bessel is one of the founders of SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which provides the main messaging network through which international payments are initiated. In the 1980's, Bessel organised the first SWIFT chess tournaments, which significantly raised the standards for chess professionalism. He befriended several of the world's strongest players, including Garry Kasparov. Together with them, he would go on to found the Grandmaster Association (GMA), an organisation aimed at creating "a high-quality environment for chess and to promote professional chess by grandmasters". Although the GMA would eventually disappear, Bessel kept his interest in chess while remaining active in other fields, such as film production and pro cycling. 

Interviewed by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam during the Prague Chess Festival, Bessel retells the story of the origins of the GMA, his relationship with Kasparov, and numerous anecdotes involving the greatest chess players of all time. 

0:00 – Intro

2:44 – Welcome Bessel!

4:26 – How Bessel became involved in chess

8:42 – The first SWIFT tournament

13:45 – The origins of the Grandmaster Association (GMA)

19:50 – Lubomir Kavalek, dawn of a “golden era”

24:50 – Start of the conflict between GMA and FIDE

30:30 – Kasparov’s vision for the GMA

32:12 – AD BREAK

32:52 – Kasparov breaks away from the GMA

41:16 – Bessel’s appreciation for chess players

44:44 – Bessel’s favourite: Misha Tal

46:50 – Bessel tells a Bobby Fischer story

54:21 – AD BREAK

55:19 – The Magnus vs FIDE conflict

58:10 – Chess vs cycling

1:01:30 – Bessel’s candidacy for FIDE president

1:04:10 – Bessel doesn’t see a leader in the chess world

1:05:35 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Hungarian grandmaster Peter Leko. A world-class grandmaster and former prodigy, Peter now works as a coach and has achieved acclaim as one of the most popular online chess commentators.

Peter Leko was extremely successful as a player. As a young kid of only 14 years, four months and 22 days, he became a grandmaster in 1994. This achievement made him the youngest grandmaster in the world at the time, breaking the old record of Judit Polgar. Peter rapidly grew into a world-class player and ultimately challenged for the world title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2004. This proved to be both a high in Leko’s career and a traumatic moment, as he was leading by one point going into the last game and dramatically lost that game, allowing Kramnik to retain the title. In 2025, Peter is no longer an active player and devotes himself to commentary and coaching, with Vincent Keymer as his most notable pupil.

In a lively and engaging conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Peter speaks about his years as a chess prodigy, his greatest successes, the Kramnik match, freestyle and much more. Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!

0:00 – Intro

2:45 – Welcome Peter!

4:04 – Difference between top level chess now versus in Peter’s prime

6:36 – Becoming the then-youngest grandmaster of all time at age 14, first encounters with Kasparov and Korchnoi

12:58 – Peter’s first Wijk aan Zee tournament in 1992, first games with Vishy Anand

16:48 – First big victories

20:51 – The “Adorjan years”

26:02 – Peter’s flawless memory

28:50 – Music

32:40 – How the Hungarian government persuaded Peter to play in the Olympiad

38:02 – Preparing for the Olympiad

47:19 – AD BREAK

47:50 – Peter’s World Championship match against Kramnik

57:15 – Aftermath of the Kramnik match

1:00:47 – Retirement

1:04:30 – Peter’s relationship with Vincent Keymer

1:09:00 – Commentary

1:14:21 – AD BREAK

1:15:14 – How does Peter prepare himself for commentary?

1:17:40 – Freestyle and Peter’s problem with FIDE time controls

1:24:30 – Peter’s relationship with Bobby Fischer

1:27:50 – Vincent Keymer’s fantastic Freestyle performance

1:30:00 – Why top players are gravitating towards Freestyle

1:39:27 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the second part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.

This week's narration, which is the fifth in a six-part series, chronicles the "second surge" of Tal's career, where he achieved over-the-board success despite having lost some of his trademark aggression. It also delves deeper into Tal's personality off-the-board. A mild-mannered freethinker, Tal was wary of the totalitarian Soviet regime of which he was a part, and always sought to maintain his independence without ruffling too many feathers "at home".

Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, this week’s episode about Mikhail Tal is different from the two-part “My Misha” series from May of last year. Instead of an active participant, Genna is more of a background figure this time. However, this does not make his retelling of Tal’s stories any less vivid.

Enjoy this week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast!

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Matthew Sadler, one of the most versatile chess lovers in the universe. In a lively conversation with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, the English grandmaster touches on a variety of subjects, spicing up his stories with fascinating observations, sound advice and not-to-be-missed reading tips.

Matthew Sadler is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, an expert in chess engines, a successful author and, as he is no longer a professional player – after all, he has a fulltime job in IT - he is often called the world’s strongest amateur. One of Matthew’s latest interests is humans taking on engines that give their opponents odds. Would you like to play an engine with an extra knight? Or rather with an extra queen? You’d be surprised how much you’d learn from those games, as Matthew explains with his contagious enthusiasm.

He also looks at the recent Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee, won by an impressive Praggnanandhaa, and the first leg of the new Freestyle Grand Slam that took place in Weissenhaus. While Vincent Keymer stunned Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana to claim the $200,000 first prize, the event also led to heated chess-political discussions around the globe.

0:00 – Intro

2:16 – Matthew’s fascination with recent odds games played by chess engine Leela

9:02 – Has Matthew been following Freestyle chess?

17:08 – Tata Steel

22:37 – Which recent books have especially impressed Matthew?

29:36 – The erosion of strategic principles in favor of pure calculation in the computer era

36:14 – AD BREAK

36:45 – Matthew’s love for historical chess books

39:25 – The legacy of lesser-known players like Efim Bogoljubow, David Janowski and Frank Marshall

45:00 – Matthew’s love for Zukertort and dislike for Steinitz

46:55 – The GOAT debate and why Matthew thinks the “Big Three” debate is unfair

53:24 – AD BREAK

54:21 – How modern chess does not require “classic chess education”

55:53 – The influence of Kasparov’s “modern” opening preparation

57:48 – Matthew previews the year 2025 and his expectations for Gukesh, Pragg, Keymer and Nodirbek

1:05:00 – The Gideon Ståhlberg biography

1:07:06 - Outro 

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely.

One of our return guests, Loek needs no introduction for our regular listeners. An eight-time Dutch national champion, Loek had his career peak in 2001, when he made it to the world top 10 with a rating of 2714. Besides his own achievements on the chess board, Loek is a successful coach, who has worked with stars like Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Kramnik (2007), Veselin Topalov, and more recently with the Italian national team and Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam.

With an incredible 25 appearances in the Masters group, Loek is the most experienced Tata Steel Chess Tournament player alive. Interviewed by Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam, he looks back on the performances of several top players at this year’s event, while also recalling several legendary Wijk aan Zee moments and traditions.

0:00 – Intro

2:23 – Why Loek is the ultimate Wijk aan Zee expert

8:38 – Differences between Wijk aan Zee now versus in the past

10:50 – Loek guesses Wijk aan Zee record holders

12:20 – Loek reflects on his own best and worst Wijk aan Zee experiences

15:42 – “Handshake-gate”

19:23 – AD BREAK

19:55 – Loek’s favourite Wijk aan Zee tournament

28:02 – Why players often go on losing streaks in Wijk aan Zee

29:35 – Gukesh’s performance

35:16 – Caruana’s performance

38:10 – Erigaisi’s performance

42:47 – Pragg’s performance

44:54 – Are tiebreaks a satisfactory way to decide the winner of the tournament?

49:07 – The tiebreaks between Gukesh and Pragg

50:43 – The crazy last round of this year’s event

55:03 – AD BREAK

56:04 – Should Pragg consider this win a milestone in his career?

57:14 – The Challengers group

1:00:27 – The famous Wijk aan Zee football match

1:07:37 – Outro

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features the fourth part of a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.

With his fierce attacking style, “The Magician from Riga” dethroned reigning World Champion Botvinnik to claim the World Chess Championship in 1960. Widely acclaimed as a genius, Mischa’s tactical play would produce numerous brilliancies, as well as a 95-game unbeaten streak, a record that would stand for over forty years.

Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, this week’s episode about Mikhail Tal is different from the two-part “My Misha” series from May of this year. Instead of an active participant, Genna is more of a background figure this time. However, this does not make his retelling of Tal’s stories any less vivid.

A physical copy of "The Essential Sosonko" is available for purchase on the New In Chess website: https://www.newinchess.com/the-essential-sosonko-hardcover  

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features an interview with Dutch grandmaster Jorden van Foreest.

On the eve of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Jorden talks to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam about his preparation for ‘the Wimbledon of chess’ and his adventures in earlier editions of this world-class event. Most notably, the 2021 edition that Jorden sensationally won ahead of a daunting field that included Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri.

As they look ahead to the 87th(!) edition of ‘Wijk aan Zee’, Jorden also gives his take on two news stories that got worldwide attention during the World Rapid & Blitz Championship in New York that he recently played in: ‘Jeansgate’, the scandal that erupted when Magnus Carlsen was fined for wearing jeans, and the controversial end of the Blitz championship, when Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi decided to share the title and the world chess federation FIDE went along in this breaking of the rules.

Jorden was born into a family with a rich chess tradition. At the end of the 19th century, his great-great-grandfather Arnold van Foreest was Dutch champion, and so was the brother of his great-great grandfather, Dirk van Foreest.

Interestingly, Jorden’s younger brother Lucas has been Dutch champion as well. And yes, Jorden himself has also been Dutch champion as he won the title when he was only 17 years old, one year after he had become a grandmaster.

Jorden, who is 25 now, has been U-10 Open Dutch Youth Champion in 2010, U-14 European Youth Champion in 2013, and only a month ago he won the European Blitz Championship in Skopje.

As said, Jorden’s biggest triumph so far was his win in the 2021 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, where he defeated Anish Giri in a hectic blitz tiebreak.

Jorden is not only a former winner of this epic tournament, it’s also one of his favourite tournaments. He truly knows the village of Wijk aan Zee inside out, as he has been playing there from a very early age.

If you are looking forward to the Tata Steel Chess Tournament as much as we are, you should not miss this highly entertaining conversation with Jorden van Foreest. If you are slowly but surely getting into the mood for two weeks of great chess, you will definitely enjoy this episode of the New In Chess podcast!

0:00 – Intro

2:50 – What is Jorden’s state of mind with Tata Steel right around the corner?

7:37 – When Jorden won the tournament in 2021, how did he prepare?

10:21 – Cold showers

13:15 – Jorden being one of the older players in his group at 25

14:05 – How Jorden’s life and career changed after his 2021 win

15:18 – Working for Magnus in the runup to his World Championship match with Nepo

21:46 – How does Jorden prepare for his thirteen opponents in Wijk aan Zee?

24:27 – Does Jorden follow the same “modern” approach to opening preparation?

26:44 – Does Jorden get affected by his opponents’ presence?

29:13 – AD BREAK

29:45 – Does Jorden prepare differently in such an exceptionally strong field?

33:10 – Why did Jorden participate in the rapid and blitz World Championship in New York?

36:00 – Jorden’s history of good performances in Wijk aan Zee

38:29 – Jorden tells a funny Daniil Dubov story

39:48 – “Jeansgate” and how other top players responded to it

47:18 – How does Jorden feel about the prize-sharing situation between Magnus and Nepo?

49:55 – How does Jorden plan to work with his brother Lucas in Wijk aan Zee?

52:48 – AD BREAK

53:50 – The special atmosphere in Wijk aan Zee during Tata Steel

57:50 – How is Jorden preparing for the upcoming qualification cycle for the Candidates’ Tournament?

1:00:23 – Jorden’s view on freestyle chess

1:03:45 – Are there any opponents in Wijk aan Zee that Jorden is especially excited to play against?

1:08:13 – Outro